News - Economy minister: Largest source of foreign direct investment in Armenia is UAE for first time

The amount of funds transferred from Russia to Armenia by individuals—that is, remittances—also increased; in January-August it amounted to 2.7 billion dollars, the increase was 42 percent. Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan said this in the National Assembly of Armenia Friday, as he presented a number of indicators. Accordingly, in January-August 2023, Armenia’s trade with the other EAEU countries amounted to 4.3 billion dollars, compared to the same period last year, it increased by 55.8 percent, including the trade with Russia in the past eight months amounted to 4 billion 160 million dollars; an increase of 56.3 percent compared to the same period last year. In terms of investments, the amount of net foreign direct investment flows into Armenia from the other EAEU countries amounted to 305 million dollars. "For example, the amount of net flows of foreign direct investment from the Russian Federation amounted to 250 million dollars. But I must note that for the first time in our history, the source of the largest foreign direct investment in the Republic of Armenia was the United Arab Emirates [(UAE)]; Russia is now in second place," Kerobyan said. The economy minister added that Armenia is conducting talks with a number of countries regarding the establishment of preferential trade regimes; these countries are Iran, Egypt, UAE, and Indonesia.